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God knows best
In the new Disney movie Tangled, Rapunzel is a young lady who was stolen from her parents as a baby and has been raised by the person who stole her, an old woman known as Mother Gothel, who poses as her mother. Rapunzel possesses a rare gift; whenever she sings a certain song, her hair glows and instantly heals any injury or cures any infirmity--even age. This is why Mother Gothel originally stole her away--so that she might use Rapunzel to have eternal youth. Naturally, her parents, who happen to be the king and queen of the land, are looking for her, so Rapunzel has been secluded in a tall tower all her life. Now that she is nearly 18, however, she desires to depart and asks her assumed mother, whom she loves, if she might leave the tower just for a day. Her mother then launches into a spirited song describing the horrors of the world and persuading Rapunzel to stay in her tower, with the chorusing line being, "Mother knows best!" Unfortunately, all too often, this is how God is viewed. We see Him as this impersonal God who is only looking out for His best interests; we think that when he will not give us our way because "God knows best," that He is really just trying to manipulate us for His own use. In short, we view Him as the selfish bad guy. There are several major problems with this way of thinking. For one thing, God is, well, God. He is omniscient, omnipotent, omnipresent. He really does know more than we could ever comprehend. He has a plan for the world, and in the end, it is, in fact, for His glory--but that is how it should be. We cannot always understand why He does what He does; sometimes what happens may hurt or seem unjust. But, there is a purpose for it all--a divine purpose--and it is for the best. If we are Christians, then we know that ultimately God will vanquish all evil and Satan will be defeated. All pain, sadness, suffering, hate will be destroyed. All the things which we cannot understand, which we do not like--untimely deaths, incurable diseases, natural disasters--all those bad things are a consequence of our own sin. God is holy and perfect and, had we not sinned, none of it would have happened. But we did sin, and God is a just God, so there has to be a punishment. However, God, in His perfect plan and omniscience, sent His only Son to die on the cross for our sins and to be raised again the third day. He paid the ultimate price for our sin, and because of this, those who believe in Jesus Christ and trust in Him alone for their salvation will spend eternity with Him. He loves us and doe not want anyone to perish. He has a perfect plan. God really does know best! --Wow! Excellent connection. mr gc